Special Rules
Synapse
Immunity to Morale is really good for the units that can come in large numbers.
Instinctive Behaviour
If you are too far away from Synapse, you get debuffs unless you attack the nearest enemy unit. Much less crippling than it has been in previous editions.
Shadow in the Warp
Increases the difficulty of opposing Psychic, potentially deadly in combination with one of the Warlord Traits.
HQ
Broodlord
Can Advance and Charge and buffs Genestealers. It's also Synapse and a Psyker. A strong HQ choice.
Hive Tyrant
The iconic HQ for Tyranids, especially with wings. They bring a lot to the table and are usually both the first and second choice for HQ units.
The Swarmlord
A unique Hive Tyrant, who is a literal beast in Melee. He also lets a friendly unit move instead of shooting which almost ensures successful charges every turn.
Tyranid Prime
Good if you are taking a lot of Tyranid Warriors, otherwise pass. It feels too expensive and lacks Psychic ability.
Tervigon
Buffs Termagants and also replenishes dead ones. I really like the idea of taking this alongside masses of Termagants as the core of a Battalion.
Neurothrope
A Psyker that can heal Zoanthropes or itself whenever it uses Smite. Also, it is an easy to hide source of Synapse.
Old One Eye
An interesting melee beast, but overshadowed by the other options available to the army.
Troops
Tyranid Warriors
A source of Synapse available in the Troops slot so good if you feel you may be lacking in Synapse.
Genestealers
One of the best melee units in the game, especially with the tools available in the Codex. I wouldn't bother with the Infestation Nodes though.
Termagants
You can take large units of these and fill the battlefield with bodies. They are so cheap and their shooting can be surprisingly deadly in large numbers.
Hormagaunts
A large swarm re-rolls 1s for hits and wounds in Melee, and they have the speed to get there.
Ripper Swarms
Small, so you can hide them on backfield Objectives and forget about them.
Elites
Tyrant Guard
They are bodyguards for the Hive Tyrant but struggle to keep up when one has wings. A group of these supporting the Swarmlord might be okay.
Hive Guard
The weapon options for this unit are fantastic. Either Strength 8 that ignores line of sight, or Strength 7 Haywire. They are expensive though.
Lictor
These want to hunt backline units, but they don't feel like they make enough impact when they manage to get to them.
Deathleaper
A named Lictor that hunts Characters, so it looks worse at it is unlikely to kill its prey.
Zoanthropes
A Smite cannon unit with a 3+ Invul. Large units are really good.
Maleceptor
An expensive Psychic bomb, overshadowed by the other options.
Venomthropes
They shroud your army with a -1 to hit, which gets better the more you take. Also, their weapons aren't spectacular but do D3 damage.
Pyrovores
Heavy flamers that do Mortal Wounds as they take damage. Great for holding an Objective.
Haruspex
Not a bad beast, it's ability to get wounds back can increase its survivability.
Fast Attack
Gargoyles
Essentially, Termagants that you can deep strike, the Blinding Venom helps keep them alive if they make the charge.
Raveners
A modular deep strike unit, these are probably better at hunting backline units than Lictors.
The Red Terror
A named Ravener, it's Swallow Whole ability could potentially kill a character instantly but is unlikely to actually work.
Mucolid Spores
Living mines, good for doing Mortal Wounds and keeping the opponent away from areas.
Spore Mines
Smaller mines, they do less damage but come in groups of three.
Heavy Support
Exocrine
It gets +1 to hit and the ability to shoot twice if it doesn't move and it's weapon is fantastic.
Tyrannofex
More modular, I like the idea of taking two of these, one with Rupture Cannon for the big targets and one with Fleshborer Hive for helping clear Infantry.
Biovores
If it hits it doesn't Mortal Wounds, if it misses it makes Spore Mines. I really like these.
Toxicrene
I think this has the potential for assaulting elite Infantry and doling out more damage than it receives. If it encounters heavy fire though, it will probably drop.
Carnifexes
The Tyranid equivalent of Dreadnoughts, these can be customised for the job you want. They lack the Dreadnought weakness as there are more targets in the army to absorb the opposing heavy firepower.
Screamer-Killers
These are really good, I think they are the best kind of Carnifex.
Thornbacks
A Carnifex with the ability to do a Mortal Wound in melee. Not exceptionally compelling over the other Carnifexes.
Mawloc
The ability to burrow up, deal Mortal Wounds and then block enemy movement is really good. It doesn't do much damage on its own but the disruption is amazing.
Trygon
A deep strike assault unit that can take some Troops with it. Not bad, but the Toughness seems low for a model of its size.
Trygon Prime
A Trygon, but with Synapse. If you are looking to field a Trygon, then this is worth upgrading to, otherwise, pass.
Dedicated Transport
Tyrannocyte
A drop pod. It's conceptually cool, but probably not worth fielding.
Fliers
Harpy
A decent mobile gun platform that also drops Spore Mines.
Hive Crone
Has a decent Strength flamer, and access to Haywire. If I want a Flier though, I'd rather have a Harpy.
Fortification
Sporocyst
A bunker that spawns Spore Mines, it does seem a little expensive for a unit that can't move. You can deep strike it in though.
Hive Fleet Adaptations
I say this a lot about sub-faction abilities, but all of these are really good. There are so few truly bad sub-faction abilities in the game.
Stratagems
Stand-out Stratagems
- Caustic Blood
- Rapid Regeneration
- Scorch Bugs
- Single-Minded Annihilation
- Pathogenic Slime
- Sporefield
- Power of the Hive Mind
- Death Frenzy
- Overrun
- Call the Brood
- Adrenaline Surge
- The Deepest Shadow
- Endless Swarm
- Opportunistic Advance
These are about 50/50, although the Kronos one really punishes opposing Psykers.
Bio-Artefacts of the Tyranids
Stand-out Relics
- Chameleonic Mutation
- Hyper-Adaptive Biology
- Balethorn Cannon
- The Norn Crown
The best powers here are all of the buff/debuff powers. It gives you a lot of battlefield control.
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